Jonathan Pringle, Candidate for Nominating Committee

---

Jonathan Pringle

University Archivist

he/him

 

Volunteering and leadership are, at first glance, disparate concepts, though both are calls that reward collaboration, ingenuity, and effective management of resources. Closely related is the understanding of one’s limits and when and where boundaries must be established to prevent volunteer burnout.

---

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

I am a Canadian-American archivist, having graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Master of Archival Studies program in 2008—after which I migrated to the US Southwest to begin my career here. I first spent three years at a small nonprofit museum—the Museum of Northern Arizona—where I was a solo archivist. Then in 2011, I was hired by Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library—the host institution for the drafting of the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials in 2005—and quickly adapted to the world of academic libraries. In 2017, I became a dual citizen. In 2019, I followed my husband to Albuquerque where he was to begin studying to be a physician assistant; I was hired at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center as their scholarly communications and digital librarian—where I am today. In my master’s program, I selected to do a First Nations curriculum concentration, intending to return (post-graduation) to my then-home in the Northwest Territories and serve a population with a majority First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people. Who would have thought I would instead end up in the desert, let alone a different country? Regardless of the locale, my career has focused on collaborative relationships with adjacent Native American/Indigenous communities and our institutional responsibility to work closely with them on issues of representation and cultural sensitivity. In my current position, I manage our library’s Native Health Database, a Mukurtu-supported research tool designed to exchange unique health resources in a respectful and inclusive manner. In 2022, I obtained my Certified Records Manager designation. I am humbled to have worked alongside—and been led by—some of the best colleagues and friends throughout my career.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT

Each candidate prepared a diversity statement according to SAA guidelines.

When thinking about diversity, equity, and inclusion I oftentimes frame it as an exercise in identifying privilege. I am a cisgender, white male. This status affords me enormous privilege, and because of this I will never be able to understand the lived experience of those with different backgrounds and access than myself. My identity as a gay male similarly gives me a degree of privilege, considering that the ‘G’ on the LGBTQIA+ scale is more frequently understood in society than those letters associated with my lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identifying friends and colleagues. With privilege comes responsibility, including acceptance of my own biases—conscious and unconscious—that inform my ethics and professional decision making. I have deeply appreciated feedback from friends and colleagues when I have mistakenly used microaggressions or bias in my communication in the past. I will continue to make mistakes but commit to learning and changing through those interactions. It is now on me to speak up when I witness these same microaggressions and the impact they have on many of my peers.

In addition to my identity as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I have a strong interconnectedness with friends, family, and colleagues presently living with mental illness. Having lived my entire adult life with generalized anxiety, I have embraced therapy, medication, and strong relationships to buoy me through those times when feeling “not OK” is a completely acceptable state of being. I have seen the harmful effects that toxic masculinity has had on people; society continues to downplay or outright support these invisible threats. As a cis white male, I similarly feel the need to be more vocal and use my experience in the continued battle against mental health stigma for all. This includes being mindful of others who are experiencing acute, chronic, or crisis-level mental health challenges and picking up some of their slack to give them additional space to find their baseline. Why should this approach be any different than when a friend or colleague is experiencing a physical illness?

I will bring my natural compassion and empathy to the Nominating Committee and deploy these skills in finding the next leaders of the Society of American Archivists. I look forward to collaboratively finding candidates who embed equity and inclusion and will be strong advocates for the successes SAA has achieved with DEI initiatives in recent years.

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

SAA depends on volunteers to lead the organization and guide activity in support of the strategic plan. Given the demands of our current social environment and need for work-life balance, what keeps you committed to SAA? Why should one volunteer?

CANDIDATE'S RESPONSE 

At its core, volunteering is an expression of support for the broad mission and goals of an organization. From an emotional intelligence perspective, to feel connected to something is to first understand the “why” behind it so that any subsequent activities are fueled by a larger purpose. All of us have been on volunteer committees that have lacked this fundamental unifying principle, and we have seen the consequences: confusion, lack of focus, and cynicism. Volunteering and leadership are, at first glance, disparate concepts, though both are calls that reward collaboration, ingenuity, and effective management of resources (both for oneself and as a group). Closely related is the understanding of one’s limits and when and where boundaries must be established to prevent volunteer burnout.

In consideration of this, what does one benefit from volunteering for leadership roles with the Society of American Archivists? In addition to the enhancements it provides for a professional CV, I consider the impact SAA has (had) on the archival profession, both nationally and internationally, and the potential it has to create significant change to the theory and methodology that underpins our work. We have seen significant changes to our best practices, oftentimes as a result of bottom-up grassroots efforts. No better example comes to mind than the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials, drafted by an international team of archivists (the First Archivist Circle) outside of SAA in 2005 and presented to SAA membership for response, consideration, and eventual endorsement by the Council in 2018. The tireless efforts of the First Archivist Circle and countless individuals and organizations promoting the Protocols has led to its widespread adoption in myriad institutional settings. Most recently in 2022, SAA created the Archival Repatriation Committee to provide effective coordination of the exchange of archival materials between originating communities and those repositories presently in custody of them. This tangible action is evidence of an organization that listens to its key stakeholders and seeks collaborative solutions to helping us be better custodians of these materials.

There are other important considerations for volunteering and leadership: 1) It must be FUN to work with a group of people on reaching shared objectives. Humor and not taking myself too seriously has been an important way for me to communicate with others, both personally and professionally. 2) I commit to not overextending myself and/or other members of our team, to setting boundaries, and to ultimately saying no to something when the timing isn’t right. 3) I will reflect on lessons learned during the pandemic and create flexibility to accommodate those moments when our lives outside of our professional responsibilities demand our attention, and (4) I will always pay attention to the impact of our work and its effect on those with less privilege; center decision-making around those who may be most vulnerable to its effects.

2023 ELECTION HOME